England May Host 2022 World Cup if Qatar’s Found Guilty of Cheating

Lord Triesman says England should be considered to host the 2022 World Cup if it is found the Qatar bid team broke FIFA rules by running a secret campaign to sabotage their rivals.

There are growing calls for Qatar to be stripped of the right to host it after a report in the Sunday Times claimed their bid employed a PR firm and ex-agent to smear their main rivals, the US and Australia.

Triesman, former chairman of the FIFA and England 2018 bid chairman, has urged Fifa to investigate the claims.

He said: “If Qatar is shown to have broken the FIFA rules, then they can’t hold on to the World Cup. It would not be wrong for Fifa to reconsider England in those circumstances.” The Qatar 2022 tournament organizers deny the allegations.

Qatar won the right to stage the tournament in December 2010 at the same time Russia was awarded the 2018 World Cup, beating other bids including one from England.

The Qatar bid has previously been accused of corruption but was cleared in 2014 after a two-year Fifa inquiry.

But Damian Collins, chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said: “If the Qataris have broken the rules, they should face some sanctions.”